Tarte Big Thrill Collection Review, Photos, Swatches

Local ULTAs May Still Have This In Stock…

Tarte Big Thrill Collection ($48.00) is a large box set/palette that contains sixteen eyeshadows (0.08 oz. each), four blushes (0.16 oz. each), and three lipglosses (0.20 oz. each). It’s a palette that’s really loaded with value, because you’re getting so many shades and high quantities of each. The average individual powder eyeshadow is around 0.05 oz.–these are even larger–and the average blush is right around 0.16 oz. (and Tarte’s full-sized blushes are 0.20 oz.), too. Many lipglosses are between 0.17 and 0.24 oz., so these fall right in the middle.

I’m so bummed, because I’ve had this for a little over a week and started testing it as soon as it arrived, but it just sold out online. It’s an ULTA exclusive, so I’m hoping that some may still be available in stores. I already did the bulk of the work (writing the actual review is the “fastest” component of the process–it’s the photographing, swatching, editing, and testing that take up most of the hours!), so I still wanted to share with you.

Giant Peach is a soft peach with a barely-there frosted finish. It had great pigmentation and was soft, blendable, and easy to work with. bareMinerals Peace is more satiny. bareMinerals Stealth is a touch more orange.

Brilliant Bronze is a medium-dark bronze with warm, orange-red undertones and a frosted finish. It had great, true-to-pan color payoff, and it was soft, smooth, and blendable. This shade is very, very dupable, though! It’s a classic, basic shade, so if this was the only shade you liked, there are lots of individual options. Chanel Intuition is a touch darker. MAC Mulch is a little redder-toned. Urban Decay Deeper is less orange-toned. MAC Bronze is richer, warmer.

Pop of Pink is a light pink with warm, yellow undertones and a frosted finish. It had just so-so color payoff, as it was a bit sheer in places and needed to be layered or used wet for greater intensity. MAC taupeless is a touch pinker and has more sparkle. Chanel Harmonie du Soir is very similar. MAC Invicible Light is a step lighter.

Pumped About Purple is a blackened purple with red undertones and a very fine violet-red micro-shimmer over a satiny finish. It had good color payoff, but it was a little dry. MAC Spellcaster is similar in color but has a matte finish. Urban Decay Rockstar is purpler, lighter.

Silver Burst is a bright silver-tinged white with a frosted, metallic finish. This shade had out-of-this-world pigmentation, though it was a little powdery. Bobbi Brown Iced Blue is very comparable in color–less frosted.

Next Level Lilac is a mauve-tinged taupe. It’s a little gray, mauve, and brown at the same time. It has a mostly matte finish, and the color payoff was lovely. Tom Ford Enchanted is purpler. Urban Decay Bust is darker.

Jump for Juniper is a deep, dark blue with a hint of green to give it a teal-like edge. It has a mostly matte finish. The color payoff was nice, and the shade wasn’t powdery. Inglot #340 is a touch greener.

Clay Crush is a pale beige with a gray tinge. Perhaps you may call it a light greige! It’s cool-toned and has a matte finish. The only dupe I could think of was MAC Double Feature 6, which is a bit darker and browner.

Rush of Gold is a orange-yellow gold with a metallic, frosted finish. It had good pigmentation but was a little loose. L’Oreal Gold Imperial is yellower. MAC Sweet & Sour is a touch cooler-toned.

Exquisite Emerald is a green-teal shimmered red-brown. This is more of a duochrome shade. It had good color payoff and applied smoothly. MAC I’ve Got a Crush On You has more of a teal duochrome. I suspect MAC Green Brown is also comparable.

Angelic is a pale gold-shimmered white gold highlighter. It had a lovely soft, smooth texture and good pigmentation. This shade wore for seven and a half hours without fading. NARS Albatross is most similar, but it has a cooler-toned base color. theBalm Solid Gold is more golden.

Lipglosses

Strawberry Sensation is a medium pink with lighter pink shimmer and warmer undertones. It’s semi-opaque on lips, and it looks a lot less pink and more coral on. It lasted three hours on me. Revlon Papaya is more orange. MAC Strictly Plutonic is less pink.

Abra-cad-apricot is a brown coral with a creamy finish. It’s semi-sheer and milky, so it does settle a little bit into lip lines. It managed to stay on for three hours. MAC Everlasting Nude is pinker, brighter. MAC Temper Tantra is less orange.

OVERALL, I like the palette a lot, and I think the quality is pretty good across the eyeshadows and the blushes. I liked the variety in the colors available for the eyeshadows in particular; there were some neutrals but several colorful hues as well, and they had a range of finishes from more matte to fairly frosted. A few shades were powdery, but the majority were soft, blendable, and pigmented. All of the blushes (though, one is more like a bronzer and the other a highlighter) are warm-toned, though. I think perhaps a berry or plum blush would have been a good inclusion. The lipglosses aren’t fantastic but aren’t bad; they’re just… gloss. They tended to wear away faster than the average gloss, and though they’re touted as a hydrating formula, they were neither drying nor hydrating. They had a fruity scent and were slightly tacky.

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

Longevity

Application

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Local ULTAs (sold out online)

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I’m such a sucker for cute packaging and Tarte always has the best. Unfortunately, I already have some similar products and I can’t justify spending fifty dollars on a pretty box. Oh well. Thanks for the review/swatches!

WOW I absolutely love the eye look. Never would have thought to do a swipe of color like that. I might try that with some of my bolder shades that I’ve been too scared to use lol. And the abracadapricot gloss color looks great!

Love this! I didn’t want it before, as I find that I don’t use huge palettes nearly enough. But I’m a sucker for Tarte. And well, I like the colors and now I kinda want it. But I really really really don’t need it.

Hnn, this is pretty cool! I’ve been thinking about getting my roomie a makeup “starter kit” for Christmas, and this would get her off on the right foot. I’ll have to check out the Ulta near my house to see if they have any left.

I really wish I can find an overseas website that sold Tarte that also shipped to new zealand because this looks amazing.. On another note, I really am liking this new picture series that you are doing for all these inspiration looks, so much easier to follow!

They still had it at my Ulta on Saturaday 11/24. There were several in the Tarte aisle and several in the aisle near the back (same aisle as the Pop makeup line) with a bunch of other gift sets and extras of Urban Decay Naked and Naked 2 palettes. I don’t know if all Ultas are set up the same but they had at least 5 on the shelf when I was at my store. Plus Sephora might have their Tarte gift set (which has similar stuff in it)they are sold out on the Sephora site but maybe in stock in a Sephora store too.

I got the Sephora set and loved the colors, glosses and blush (only one blush in that one, though). L

I am seriously in love with the eye shadows. I would so buy this just for the eye shadows. I’ve never owned anything by Tarte before, so I was wondering if you could recommend me some products that would be the best to start with first?

If you do want to try the shadows, I’d go with the original NaturalEyes palette, as it has the most variety of colors, if that’s what you want. Otherwise, all of the other permanent palettes lean very neutral.

I’m one of those who love the softer, more natural affect of these shadows. However, if I want more intensity, using them damp or with a cream base and/or primer makes a huge difference. HTH

I really like their LipSurgence products – they range from sheer to semi-opaque and matte to sparkle finishes. The jumbo pencil/crayon is easy to apply even without a mirror (says the girl who swiped it on in the car today) and they’re really moisturizing and comfortable to wear. They have a few lip sets out for the holidays, so if you can find one in stock that might be a good place to start.

The Amazonian Clay blushes are also really nice, and I picked up the Maracuja airblushes and I really like them, too.

I really love Tarte blushes and eyeshadows. I don’t dig giant palettes like this because they are SO huge that I’m not likely to use them much. But that’s a personal preference.

I personally find the pigmentation in Tarte eyeshadows to be great. I have NeutralEyes volume 1. I’m not a huge matte lover but the palette contains 8 mattes and 2 shimmers and the matters are very creamy. Not powdery at all. To get my shimmer fix, I like to wear them over UD primer potion in greed. I also have the Eye and Cheek palette. It’s NOT as good a value compared to the mega palettes, but for me, portability makes it a better value. I use it a lot and that makes it worth it. Carried Away is more portable than this one, but I don’t really want the glosses and the eyeshadow palette is bigger than I prefer. And it only includes 1 blush. So based on personal use, I decided that the Eye and Cheek palette (with my Sephora coupon) was the best value for ME.